Tucan Travel

Tucan Travel is an independently British/Australian owned, award-winning, worldwide adventure travel company established in 1987. We are committed to operating environmentally and socially responsible tours in destinations around the world, including Europe, the Middle East & North Africa, Asia & Russia, Latin America & Antarctica. We have offices in London, Sydney and Cuzco, all staffed by experienced travellers who are passionate about sharing their love for cultural and outdoor activity-based adventures.

How the minimum criteria of the responsible travel standard was met...

Economic responsibility

Responsible travel and sustainable business practices have been at the heart of our company philosophy since the very beginning. We strive to offer tours which provide economic support to local hotels, local operators and communities and we are also committed to making sure our environmental impact is limited in order to protect each destination for future travellers. We have a detailed responsible travel policy which covers our office and road crew operations, while we also share detailed information in our pre departure booklets on our website to help clients travel responsibly.

100% of the guides employed by Tucan Travel are locally sourced. This ensures knowledgeable staff, thorough guiding and support of local individuals and businesses

Tucan Travel often consult and request advice from local operators to ensure our proposals are realistic. Through appealing to such individuals, Tucan proves their support for local businesses.

Our expedition cruises give you the opportunity to explore pristine polar, glacier, river and wildlife rich destinations including Antarctica, the Arctic Circle, Galápagos Islands, Amazon River and Patagonia. We have carefully chosen cruise operators with responsible travel policies in line with our own, i.e. they operate smaller, purpose-built vessels in order to limit their environmental impact, they take strict measures to protect the pristine natural environments they operate in, they support local business through purchasing local food, using local hotels where appropriate and employing local people as crew and naturalist guides, among other criteria.

Environmental responsibility

Our private vehicle-based tours operate on our modern, comfortable Mercedes Benz trucks which are built to European safety standards and specially adapted with a spacious passenger cabin. The powerful engines and robust construction of our vehicles are perfectly suited to the rugged roads of South America and East and Southern Africa. Our newest vehicles are also Euro IV emissions compliant, which means that our vehicle manufacturers conform to European standards to make their engines run more cleanly and efficiently, thereby limiting carbon. The powerful engines also help to cut down the travel time between each destination, gives travellers more time to enjoy each destination and cuts emissions. We also employ skilled mechanics to maintain our vehicles to the highest possible standard in order to make our vehicles burn less fuel and further limit emissions.

Tucan recognise that it is not only on-location staff who have environmental responsibilities but also our administration staff in our offices around the world. Tucan offices endeavour to be environmentally sound through practising energy conservation, implementing recycling plans, and being responsible for the surrounding physical environment.

Tucan Travel tour leaders are also intent on cleaning up the environment in tourist regions of Latin America. They conduct clean up operations with the assistance of on-location clients who are vital to the success of this program.

Social responsibility

On our group tours on public transport, group sizes are limited to a maximum of 18 (average 8-12) in order to limit our impact on the sensitive local environment and local cultures. Because variety is the spice of life we travel on varied transport including local buses, ferries, felucca, camels, bicycles, canoes, trains, taxis, elephants, local flights, trekking and walking. We find that travelling as the local people do gives you the opportunity to try out your language skills, share your stories and make new friends for a mutually enriching, cross-cultural experience. We also like some variety in our accommodation, so we stay in locally owned pleasant hotels, hostels, homestays and guesthouses of many kinds. Staying in hotels which are owned by local companies and employ local people helps to inject much needed cash into the local economy.

We encourage clients to be sensitive to the host culture through preserving and encouraging cultural and social diversity. We discourage the display of traditional or cultural 'shows' for commercial purposes.

100% of the guides employed by Tucan Travel are locally sourced. This ensures knowledgeable staff and allows clients to get an insight on the local customs in a culturally sensitive way

One of the first ever South American adventure travel companies when it was founded in 1987 by an Aussie-Colombian couple. Ten years later, they pioneered their overland tours. The company aspires to make adventure travel accessible to all.